festivals and events

raves and reviews

the sweet scoop

the sweet scoop

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. A time to give thanks for all of life’s blessings and share a bountiful feast with loved ones. As a member of the Cooking Light Bloggers’ Connection, I was invited to a special Thanksgiving-themed live taping of The Chew, that will air on ABC at 1PM on Wednesday, November 21st. Be sure to look for me at the Tasting Table, gobbling up dishes from all the co-hosts :)

Throughout the taping, the entire cast and production crew made the experience a complete blast, while co-hosts Mario Batali, Carla Hall, Michael Symon, Daphne Oz and Clinton Kelly also provided incredible holiday mealtime inspiration and helpful entertaining tips. All the wonderful Thanksgiving recipes and ideas that The Chew crew shared can be found at ABC.com/TheChew.
One of the show’s recipe standouts was Carla’s cranberry pear relish, which she generously scooped over her brined carved turkey. It was perfectly tart, sweet and zesty all in one—and complimented the poultry beautifully. The below is Carla’s recipe to a tee, with my additions of nutmeg and cloves (two of my favorite fall flavors), some mandarin oranges for extra sweetness, and grated lemon peel garnish. Enjoy!

Place onions, sugar, red wine, ginger, lemon zest, cloves, nutmeg and salt in a medium size pot. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes. Add the cranberries and pears to the pot, and continue to simmer for an additional 20 minutes or until the cranberries and onions have softened, and the color is a rich scarlet.

Remove lemon zest strips. Mix in mandarin oranges; allow relish to cool. Serve at room temperature. May be made two days in advance. Adjust seasoning, if necessary. Garnish with grated lemon peel.

TIP: Prick each cranberry with a pin or needle before cooking them. This will keep the cranberries from bursting and getting mushy as they cook.

Hungry for more from The Chew? Tune in weekdays on ABC at 1PM EST for flavorful recipes, easy-to-make crafts, and tons of fun with the show’s multi-talented celebrity hosts.

A heartfelt thank you to ABC and Cooking Light for sending me to the show. And I wish you all a safe, healthy & happy Thanksgiving! xoxo

“It’s all about the meat on meat, baby!” exclaimed Michael Symon as he proudly displayed his second People’s Choice Award trophy during last year’s 2011 SOBEWFF Burger Bash. A year later, his meat mixing mastery has paid off again.

“This year, we ground the bacon right into the burger meat,” said Symon of his winning Porky Burger — a bacon-speckled ground pork patty topped with pulled pork and slaw, with crispy pork cracklings on the side.

One of the most popular events of the Festival, the annual “best between the bun” throwdown hosted by Rachael Raydrew dozens of top name chefs and Food Network personalities from around the country to cook up their best burger creations. Thousands of attendees gathered into a massive Miami beachfront tent to nosh on a whopping amount of burgers and sides, sip Amstel Light and vote for their favorite patty.

There were 32 different burgers in all — more than enough to satisfy even the hungriest carnivores. Josh Capon (Burger & Barrel) put a sweet and savory spin on his with onion and bacon jam, shaved pickles and secret sauce, while Angelo Sosa (Social Eatz) spiced things up with his Korean-inspired bulgogi burger. The Meatball Shop guys impressed during their Bash debut with a chili-flavored cheddar and caramelized onion version, and the Amstel Light-sponsored Fatty ‘Cue patty from Zak Pelaccio was also a favorite—succulent lamb meat with salted chilis and rye barrel aged worcestershire.

Kicking off this year’s South Beach Wine and Food Festival last night was the 5th annual Amstel Light Burger Bash, hosted by Rachel Ray. The much-anticipated meaty extravaganza drew A-list chefs and food personalities serving up their “best between a bun” for the ultimate burger throw down. Thousands of hungry guests swarmed to the Ritz-Carlton’s beachside tent to sink their teeth into a whopping 26 beefy creations and vote for their favorite. And we’re not talking about your standard patties here—these were some of the best burgers I’ve ever tasted.

Classic Black Angus cheeseburger from Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack

During the gluttonous burger bonanza, some chefs chose to forgo the beef all together (elk and foie gras sliders from Tim Love, lamb and anchovy patties from Jonathon Sawyer), while others showcased inventive toppings—Bobby Flay featured crumbled potato chips on his Napa Valley Crunchified and Masaharu Morimoto cracked a fried egg over his Waygu Nikomi Burger.

Michael White offered one of the night’s juiciest bites—a Pat LaFrieda ground and dry-aged beef blend, smothered in American cheese with black tomato and butter lettuce, known as The White Label. And what New Yorker doesn’t love a Shake Shackburger? Danny Meyer knows not to mess with a good thing and doled out his famous Black Angus piled with American cheese, lettuce, tomato and “shack sauce”—a classic done well.

2009 People’s Choice winner Spike Mendelsohn dressed up as the Hamburglar in hopes of stealing back the title this year, but all tactics aside, his Colletti Smokehouse burger spoke for itself—with applewood smoked bacon, cheddar, beer-battered onion rings, chipotle BBQ sauce and a delicious toasted marshmallow milkshake to wash it all down with.

Other stand-outs included the Vermont cheddar, crispy onion and horseradish pepper sauced patty from Michael Schlow, and The Ritz Carlton’s decadent Hobb’s bacon and foie gras torchon topped Bistro Burger, served with earthy black truffle taters. And of course (drum roll please)…the two big winners of the night:

Marc Murphy snagged the prestigious Judges’ Favorite for the Big Marc—an all-beef patty on a homemade cheddar cheese and black pepper bun with spiked ketchup and bread-and-butter pickles. The cleverly executed burger and side of jalapeño tots was a truly title-deserving combo. (*Now, burger lovers can try the Big Marc themselves—it’s a new menu addition at NYC’s Ditch PlainsandLandmarc. Go get one, trust me.)

Finally, Iron Chef Michael Symon defended his 2010 title and was crowned People’s Choice award winner for the second year in a row! The salty and spicy Yo! Burger, from Symon’s B Spot in Cleveland, won over the crowd with bold flavors from fried salami, provolone cheese, pickled onions and his mother-in-law’s zesty shasha sauce. And the Nutella and hazelnut liqueur milkshake that came with it? Sold me on the first sip.

Congrats to all the winners and competitors who made Burger Bash 2011 a smashing success! After I powered my way through, bite by bite, I sought chocolately relief from Jacque Torres, but even I was too stuffed for dessert. After all, I have a long weekend of eating ahead and am saving my sweet tooth for tonight’s Let Them Eat Cake event. Enjoy some of Burger Bash’s best shots below: